Sen. John McCain: Send Weapons To Ukraine

APU.S. Senator John McCain, center, speaks as Democratic senator from the state of Connecticut, Chris Murphy, second left, and Opposition leader Oleh Tyahnybok, right, stand around him during a Pro-European Union rally in Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013.

McCain acknowledged the arms would not likely enable Ukraine to defeat the Russians in open war, but emphasised it could improve the Ukrainian military’s morale and ensure that the Russians would have “a real fight on their hands” if they invaded further.

Host Neil Cavuto asked McCain if the Europeans should be the ones to step up and assist Ukraine considering their position “in the neighbourhood” and interests with respect to Russian energy.

“We always want the Europeans to man up,” McCain said, “but it’s the United States of America that leads. If we’re not going to do anything, how the hell do you expect the Europeans to do something on their own? We are not doing anything, so why should they? The United States has got to lead.”

“We now have 150,000 killed in Syria. A million refugees in Lebanon. Meanwhile, we are debating whether — what kind of help to give the Free Syrian Army, which has been basically abandoned. Meanwhile, the Russian arms supplies dramatically increased.”